Art

Talking Sexual Freedom With Artist Uncle Reezy [NSFW]

Feminism in 2K17 comes in many iterations (all of them delectable in their own way) but sexual liberation holds an extra special place in our hearts—between our new gender-binary-defying series Gender Diaries, a host of featured stars and starlets who are saying goodbye to the status quo, and activists of all sorts ready to usher in a new wave of empowerment, we simply can’t get enough. One artist who’s undeniably on our radar? Uncle Reezy (AKA the luminous Marisa Kelling), whose sensual, colorful, explicit AF artwork is turning heads (for all the right reasons).

Kelling’s mantra is simple: “Let’s make the world more sex positive.” We couldn’t agree more. Check our full interview with the budding artist below.

What kind of narrative are you telling with all of your work? What kind of conversations do you want to start?

Yeah, I think that what I really try to emphasize is sexual liberation with women, just because I’m so over seeing guys profit from using women as sexual objects, and then when women claim their sexuality, they get shamed for it. So I really just try to put strong women into my art, and sometimes not even strong—sometimes they’re just doing their thing.

The statement on your site is “Let’s make the world more sex positive.” Can you just talk about how you took that as your mantra for your art?

Sex positivity, it’s not like it’s the most pressing issue of our time, but I do think it’s important for people to never feel ashamed for what they’re into. I kind of started doing everything because I had my own weird sexual trauma that I went through a few years ago and so I started drawing just for myself, to get more comfortable with it. I started sharing it with other people and they were super into it. I just want people to feel more comfortable with their own experiences and their own fantasies, and not have to feel ashamed or afraid about how they feel.

Talking with people, what kind of reactions do you get to your art?

I usually get pretty positive ones, but I’ll do an art show and there’s always going to be people passing by that are like, “Oh, ok…” but luckily I haven’t gotten too many negative reactions, really. I’ve had women message me just saying, “Thank you for inspiring me to be a little more out there,” which is always the best part.

So cool. Do you feel like just personally that it’s cathartic to make this kind of art that relates to sexuality?

Yeah, I really started just for myself to feel more comfortable with it, and now it’s kind of gotten to be a thing where I really want to inspire other women to just take their own bodies and feel good about themselves.

When you go to make a piece, does it usually just come to you instantly or is it a process?

Yeah, my head is just clouded with ideas all the time, and if I get one that really stands out to me and I don’t put it on paper, I just think about it constantly. And I’m just really inspired by my own experiences and hearing other people’s’ experiences.

What’s the goal or vision for how your art can affect women?

Just to make them feel happier about themselves. That’s why I choose such bright colors, because I try to get people to see how beautiful it can be to experience this or want to experience something sexual. So I just want people feeling good about themselves by the end of it. Or maybe even explore things that they hadn’t even thought of before.